NPR will distribute the RADIO AMBULANTE podcast beginning NOVEMBER 22nd. The show, hosted by Executive Producer DANIEL ALARCÓN, is a Spanish-language audio journalism podcast focusing on "neglected and under-reported Latin American and Latino stories."

"DANIEL ALARCÓN and the RADIO AMBULANTE team are pioneers in audio storytelling in the Spanish language. Their ear for language, beguiling imagination and deep journalism are a rare combination," said NPR VP of Programming ANYA GRUNDMANN. "RADIO AMBULANTE is such a natural partner for NPR and will help us connect with important stories and communities in new ways."

"There are more than 50 million Spanish speakers living in the US, and we too are part of the 'public' in 'public radio'," said ALARCÓN. "It's exciting to be part of NPR, helping it sound a little bit more like AMERICA. NPR shares our journalistic values, our commitment to good storytelling, and our desire to innovate. We couldn't be happier, or prouder, to join forces."

As both major presidential candidates took the stage at political rallies throughout their respective campaigns — even through election week — both camps shared a similar narrative: Who will win the Latino vote?

This election, Latino voters recorded higher early-voter turnouts in Arizona. On Oct. 30, 13 percent of all early ballots cast in Arizona came from Latino voters. In the 2012 presidential election, the percentage of Latino voters who cast early ballots was 11 percent and eight percent in 2008, according to The Arizona Republic.

However, regardless of the large amount of early voting Latinos, less than half of those who were registered to vote did not vote on Election Day. Nationally, there were approximately 27 million registered Latinos — roughly 13 million of them voted, according to the Morrison Institute for Public Policy, a research institute focused on examining critical issues and providing a catalyst for public dialogue.

Joseph Garcia, the director of the Latino Public Policy Center at the Morrison Institute, said the reason there were so many Latino early voters is that Election Day isn’t convenient for the Latino demographic, forcing them to cast their vote earlier.

“The way the elections are set up on Tuesdays aren’t really conducive to Latinos — especially workers,” Garcia said. “Let’s say you’re a roofer, and your job is 35 miles out of town, and you have to get up early before the polls open, you’re on the job site, you finish it — by the time you come home, it's after seven — you missed your chance to vote.”

Although the Hispanic vote did not turn out as well as many assumed, Garcia said Arizona’s Latino vote is still on the rise and is only going to get larger for future elections.

“Arizona’s Latino population is still a young population with the median age of Latinos in Arizona being age 25,” Garcia said. “That means a lot of Latinos are not yet eligible to vote. About a third of the adult population of Latinos now cannot vote, because they’re not U.S. citizens. All the youngsters who are not 18 will be able to vote because they were born here and have U.S. citizenship.”

According to America’s Emerging Latino Vote, a report done by the Morrison Institute, by 2030, it is projected that 35 percent of Arizona’s population will be Latino. This would constitute a 178 percent increase in the number of Latino citizens aged 20 and older from 2010 to 2030.

The Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State UniversityAlthough the voter turnout among Latinos was underwhelming on a national scale, James Garcia, the director of communications and public policy at the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said Latino voters had a tremendous impact on the 2016 presidential election in Arizona.

“It’s certainly documented already that we had a historic number of Hispanic voters registered in the state — about 709,000 — which is a substantial growth from four years ago,” James Garcia said. “I haven’t seen the specific numbers in terms of final turnout on Election Day, but I believe that is also going to be around the 70 percent-plus range, which historically for the Hispanic community will also be very impressive.”

James Garcia also said it’s not just Latinos who didn’t show up to the polls on Election Day.

“Latino voters in this election did their job," he said. "They turned out in historic numbers, they registered in historic numbers and they voted distinctly against a candidate whom they concluded was anathema to them. To somehow suggest that Latino voters didn’t do their job is simply ignoring the facts because nearly half of all American voters did not vote.”

Many suggest that the seemingly unflattering rhetoric Trump used in describing Latinos would lead to an increased Latino vote, which they predicted would catapult Clinton into the White House.

However, some Latino advocates, such as Eduardo Samaniego, a constitutional law and education policy junior at Hampshire College, think the Clinton campaign did not do as much as it could have to bring out more of the Latino vote.

"The Latino community has been a very neglected community by the Democratic party," Samaniego said. "They haven't invested an infrastructure in turnout or civic engagement, as they have invested in other communities. This time around, (Latinos) came out to vote in historic numbers, because of the fear of Donald Trump — not because of the Democratic investment in our community,"

Samaniego said community outreach and education directed toward Latino voters can show the true power this demographic holds.

"I do believe there is so much the Democratic party can do — educating people and making sure there are organizations engaging people on a local level," Samaniego said. "Until then, we cannot really show our real strength. This is not only a reminder of how much the Latino vote will continue to grow, but also how much more attention both Democrats and Republicans need to put to the Latino vote."

Comcast Corp. today announced it has selected two new Hispanic American-owned independent networks to be broadly distributed on Comcast Cable systems beginning in January 2017.

Comcast said that after evaluating dozens of proposals, it selected Primo TV and Kids Central, “both of which will provide quality family programming targeted to bicultural Hispanic youth.”

“Kids Central and Primo TV’s unique focus on young bicultural Hispanics fill an unmet need in youth-oriented programming and further demonstrate our commitment to providing the best experience for bicultural Hispanic families,” said Javier Garcia, SVP and general manager, multicultural services at Comcast Cable. “We believe that these networks will provide high-quality educational and entertaining content while infusing Latino culture into the experience.”

Kids Central is an English-language network consisting of age-appropriate programming with high educational value and entertainment standards that appeals to bicultural Hispanic viewers ages 3-7. In primetime, the network expands its audience with a block of family-oriented programming targeted to the whole family. Kids Central will provide both English and Spanish language video on demand content. Kids Central is owned and operated by Condista Networks.

“We are proud to work with Comcast to bring this network to viewers,” said Jorge Fiterre, president of Condista Networks. “Kids Central offers a new option for both English and Spanish speaking children and their families.”

Primo TV is an English-language network designed to appeal to bicultural Hispanic viewers ages 6-16 and consisting of age-appropriate programming with high educational value and entertainment standards. Primo TV will build off the proven track record of V-Me and V-Me Kids with diverse content such as animated series, adventure programming and STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) Awareness that will connect US Hispanics with their cultural roots. The network will also provide several video on demand content options. Primo TV is owed by V-Me Media.

"We're excited to launch Primo TV on Comcast," said Victor X. Cerda, SVP of V-Me Media. "Primo TV supports V-Me Media’s mission to provide empowering content to the next wave of Hispanic and bicultural youth. V-Me also applauds Comcast for supporting a Hispanic-owned network in reaching a growing population with content that positively reflects U.S. Hispanic values on screen."

To narrow down the proposals received, the main criteria Comcast said it considered were: “the content of the network; whether the network is fully financed; whether the networks’ ownership and/or management group(s) are well established, have relevant experience, and are substantially owned by Hispanic Americans; whether the network has launched and has existing or potential multichannel video programming distributor distribution; price; and whether the network and its potential carriage provide value to Comcast and its customers.”

The election of Donald J. Trump has left many California Latinos feeling on edge.

But one Election Day outcome has given Latino groups that opposed Mr. Trump a measure of encouragement — the largest ever Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

“It’s historic what actually happened,” said Chuck Rocha, a political consultant.

Latinos now make up nearly 40 percent of California’s population. Election analysts said strong Latino turnout played a crucial part in contests throughout the West, including the election of Catherine Cortez Masto, of Nevada, who will become the first Latina senator.

As a result, the Hispanic caucus will grow from 26 to 31 members, with more than a third from California.

Representative Linda Sánchez, the caucus chairwoman, said members had already asked for a meeting with Mr. Trump.

“Obviously, we are going to be pushing back on some of the really divisive and flawed policies that Donald Trump has discussed with respect to the Latino community,” said Ms. Sánchez, whose district includes southeastern Los Angeles.

How much clout the lawmakers can wield on issues like immigration policy, a major concern, is uncertain given the Republican control of the White House and chambers of Congress.

Nanette D. Barragán, a Democrat who won an open seat representing a heavily Latino part of Los Angeles, said many of her constituents were fearful about Mr. Trump’s plans.

“I just think having us at the table being a part of the conversation is so very important with a president like this,” she said.

On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump said he has nothing against immigrants but vowed to deport all of those who are in the country illegally, an estimated 11 million people.

Speaking in an interview on “60 Minutes” that was broadcast on Sunday, the president-elect appeared to soften that stance, saying he would seek to deport just those undocumented immigrants with criminal backgrounds, and only up to three million of them.

Salud Carbajal, who was elected to Congress from the Central Coast, said immigrant leaders have always supported efforts to deport people who have committed serious crimes. The question is how broadly a Trump administration would define the group.

“Am I glad that he has lowered the number? Yes,” Mr. Carbajal said. But, he added, “The devil’s in the details.”

Last week's presidential election has people asking: Do Latinos really vote as a bloc? Or is that just a myth intended to make America's largest minority, and one of the country's fastest-growing groups of voters, seem more important than it really is?

The answer is complicated.

It is true that — unlike African-Americans, about 90 percent of whom tend to vote for the Democratic candidate on the ballot — Latinos usually show less unity and cohesion. In fact, in 2012 they were labeled "swing" voters by Time magazine — as unpredictable a demographic as suburban moms.

While more than 60 percent of Latino voters identify as Democrats or Democratic-leaning, many of them are willing to put aside party labels and support moderate Republicans. See: former President George W. Bush, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Also, because Latinos divide into smaller categories based on country of origin, there really is no "Latino vote" per se. It's more accurate to say there is a Mexican-American vote, a Cuban-American vote, a Colombian-American vote, a Puerto Rican vote, etc. The biggest slice of the pie belongs to those who can trace their ancestry to Mexico. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, those folks account for about 64 percent of the U.S. Latino population.

This sort of thing matters. Many voters of Mexican descent have different views than, say, Cuban-Americans, on an issue like immigration or whether to open relations with Havana.

And there is even more splintering between U.S-born Mexican-Americans and foreign-born Mexicans who are naturalized U.S. citizens.

Also, Latino voters will sometimes forsake party loyalty, go rogue and support someone based on personality, celebrity or the allure of their ideas.

Which brings us to what happened this year. According to CNN exit polls, 29 percent of Latinos voted for someone who has, for the past year and a half, been their persecutor — Donald Trump. The New York Times puts the figure at 27 percent.

The billionaire enjoyed even greater support from Cuban-Americans who, according to CNN, gave him as much as 54 percent of their votes in Florida.

Of course, not everyone agrees with those percentages. The polling firm Latino Decisions was an outlier. It put Trump's Latino support at a mere 18 percent.

This much is clear: For the most part, Latinos are independent voters who follow their conscience as opposed to simply following the herd.

Yet that doesn't stop the media, the parties and political strategists from lumping Latinos together as often as they can. Sometimes, the idea is to discern voting patterns or evaluate what kinds of marketing efforts bring out the vote. They do the same thing with other voters.

For instance, we're told Trump earned the support of 72 percent of working-class white men who didn't attend college, and 62 percent of their female counterparts. That doesn't mean that those groups voted as a bloc. But it does mean that Trump was the kind of candidate, with the kind of message, that appealed to this demographic subset.

Think of it in terms of buying practices and consumer goods. The nation's cereal companies employ strategies and develop messaging to convince parents to choose their brand of cereal. But this doesn't mean that all moms and dads think alike or that they buy cereal as a "bloc." What it means is that they can be addressed, and even manipulated, as a group to produce a preferred outcome.

Likewise, with Latino voters, as divided as we can be because of our diverse backgrounds or differences of opinion, we have also demonstrated over the years a tendency to come together against a common enemy.

I remember what happened in 1994. In California, 78 percent of Latinos put aside their differences and came together to oppose Proposition 187, a mean-spirited and ultimately unconstitutional GOP-sponsored ballot initiative that denied education, social services and non-emergency medical care to undocumented immigrants and their U.S.-born children.

Latinos punished the Republican Party for the next two decades, and now California is dark blue.

The lesson: When the air is peaceful, Latinos will often divide up and vote our own narrow interests. But when we're attacked or provoked, we will just as often come together and show strength in numbers.

Do Latinos vote as a bloc? Well, to a large degree, that's up to you — and how you treat us.

November 16, 2016Source: Santa Monica ObserverCalifornia's second annual Growing Together Latino Farmer Conference was held in Monterey, Calif., to provide tools and resources to help farmers and ranchers be successful on their land.

Nearly 300 farmers are in attendance, which is being conducted in Spanish and translated into English for all attendees.

"The resources and people here today helped me achieve the success that I have now," said Javier Zamora, farmer and keynote speaker. "They are key to your success as a farmer or rancher as well."

Hosted by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the conference is open to all farmers and ranchers and is translated into English, with translation headsets. Conducting the conference in Spanish provides an enriched learning experience for much of the targeted Latino audience.

"Hispanic farmers and ranchers are a dynamic growing demographic in California and this conference aims to help Spanish-speaking farmers share, learn and grow in their native language," said Carlos Suarez, state conservationist for USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in California.

Three different workshops follow an opening keynote address by Zamora, an organic farmer and leading conservation steward and educator. Each attendee has an opportunity to attend two subjects of interest. The workshops include: Access to Capital and USDA Resources, Soil Health, Efficient Use of Water, Beekeeping, and Marketing. The conference will conclude with a Latino farmer panel representing a diverse cross section of California agriculture.

This is the second year of this conference in California.

NCAT, a nonprofit, has been promoting sustainable living for over 35 years. In recent years, their agriculture work has focused on small-scale intensive farming, urban farming, local foods, and assistance to small farmers and beginning and new farmers.

NRCS is the lead USDA partner involved. NRCS has provided leadership in a partnership effort to help America's private landowners and managers conserve their soil, water and other natural resources since 1935.

OCCUPATION/TITLE: Labor and employment attorney and National President of the Hispanic National Bar Association

Pedro J. Torres-Díaz is a principal at Jackson Lewis, P.C., a law firm that concentrates on employment discrimination, wage and hour counseling and litigation both in Florida and Puerto Rico. Torres-Díaz graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor's degree in business administration and then obtained a Juris Doctor (magna cum laude) from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. After his graduation from law school, he clerked for the Hon. Aida M. Delgado-Colón, United States Magistrate-Judge (now Chief United States District Judge), at the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

You've been a lawyer for 20 years now, how has the legal profession changed in that time?

The state of the economy and changes in technology have made the practice of law different from 20 years ago. One mission that we have at the Hispanic National Bar Association is to provide members with tools for adapting to practice of law in modern times by learning alternative technologies and skills. Also, we do training for our membership so that they can successfully sit on boards of directors of corporations.

We found that only 1 to 2 percent of all Fortune 500 boards have Latino directors and we are actively providing training to members so they have the necessary skills to serve on those boards across the nation.

My theme for my term as president of the HNBA is 'Strengthening the Future of Law,' but that's not just about professional development.

One thing that hasn't changed is that we continue to be severely underrepresented in the legal profession. Only about 4 percent of lawyers are Latino and in the case of Latinas, they represent only 1.2 to 1.3 percent of the legal profession. Despite our efforts a lot remains to be done.

The make-up of the lawyer population should clearly reflect America's, demographics but is there something more to it?

Well, obviously we need more good lawyers, but more Latino lawyers are necessary so that there are more professionals that can be examples to our community, so that students can look up to us say, "I want to pursue that career, I want to do what he's doing."

I believe strongly that we have an obligation as current lawyers to ensure we are well represented in the profession - and it is a very honorable and rewarding profession. Plus, just look at the news - we need more lawyers who look like us and think like us to be able to adequately represent our community.

A lot of parents and families I talk to are intimidated; it's a long journey to becoming a lawyer: Getting an undergraduate degree, passing the LSAT, getting into law school and then passing the bar - plus the high cost to do all that. How do you assuage those fears?

Those are all real factors but I think the number one misconception about the practice of law is that it's unavailable because of cost. I think this is so particularly intimidating because there is a lack of sufficient mentors and examples in the community for students to model themselves upon.

There is also, in some undeserved communities, lack of access to the best academic courses that help you prepare for a career in law, and I think it also has to do with the misconception about whether a Latino can be successful in several areas of law.

The common misconceptions I hear is that Latinos should go into criminal law, family law or immigration law, but that's not the case. There are many areas of law — like, for instance, intellectual property law, which wasn't big when I was coming up in law — and they are equally available to anyone who wants to pursue them.

How is the Hispanic National Bar Association helping young people overcome these barriers?

We're trying to establish a pipeline from high school with awareness programs, and then also we connect with students in higher education. We host speed networking programs that pair college students with mentors and judges in different cities. We also fundraise to create scholarships to help students pay for schooling.

Any other tips out there for young people hoping to get into law and are nervous about the cost and the challenge?

My recommendation is that in general there are scholarships available, but there are also scholarships designed especially for Latinos so you have to look hard for them and then work hard to qualify for that help.

Also, though, know that you don't have to go to the most expensive law school out there to have a successful career in law. So don't feel restrained if you can't go to Harvard, Yale or Stanford; you're not out of luck. Make the best of what you can afford and attain.

For instance, Florida International University in Miami - which I have absolutely no connection to - has a terrific school of law and has the highest number of Latino law students of any law school in the nation. It also has the highest rate of passage of the bar exam of all law schools in Florida. It's a great example of a school that doesn't necessarily have a big name, yet they're producing excellent Latino and Latina lawyers.

But first decide if you really, really, really want to be a lawyer. I'm not going to sugar coat it - it does require a great deal of time and energy. If you have the desire and the time, do the research into what programs might be right for you, take the LSAT and find a mentor.

It's very important to find someone to talk to about their experience in law school so you go into it with your eyes wide open. Then send in the application, accept the offer and go for it.

With more content options and more ways to access content than ever before, Hispanic viewing behaviors are rapidly evolving, Horowitz Research’s FOCUS Latino 2016 study reveals. The study’s findings show that, mirroring the general market trend, Hispanics are shifting away from traditional live television. In 2013, Latino viewers reported spending 75% of their weekly viewing time with traditional sources (live, DVR, and VOD) and just 18% streaming. In 2016, traditional viewing has dropped to 58% and streaming has doubled its share to 36%.

/EIN News/ -- The increase in streaming is evident across all acculturation segments. English-oriented and bilingual Hispanics have adopted streaming at a more rapid rate than their Spanish-dominant counterparts, and now spend about four in 10 hours of viewing time on streamed content. Spanish-dominant Latinos spend about three out of every 10 TV viewing hours streaming (view chart).

There are some key differences in terms of usage of streaming sources that present opportunities for players in the Spanish-language content space. While overall, Hispanic subscription rates for SVOD services like Netflix and Hulu are on par with or even higher than the general market, Spanish-dominant Hispanics under-index. About two-thirds of bilingual (65%) and English-oriented (62%) Hispanics report having a subscription to Netflix, while just 44% of Spanish-dominant Latinos do. In line with their lower subscription rates, Spanish-dominant Latinos are less likely than bilingual and English-oriented Latinos to say that they frequently use Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu. Moreover, Spanish-dominant Hispanics are more likely to turn to free streaming sources, such as YouTube or “just googling” the name of a show (view chart).

“There’s often a misconception that Spanish-dominant Latinos are less tech savvy and that they are heavily live-TV oriented,” says Adriana Waterston, senior vice president of insights and strategy for Horowitz. “But there have been major changes in viewing behaviors across all segments of the Hispanic market, including among Spanish-dominant Latinos. Access gaps are shrinking as more streaming platforms are offering content for this audience and marketing directly to them. There is a tremendous opportunity to super-serve this audience in the streaming space.”

FOCUS Latino 2016 is a two-part phone and online survey conducted among 876 Hispanic heads of households who are TV viewers (January 2016) and 450 Hispanic internet users 18+ (May 2016). The study focuses on the market for cable, broadband, and new media content, services, and technology among Hispanics.

Ontario-based Cardenas Markets has been sold to a partnership of two investment firms, according to both parties.

New York’s KKR and Chicago’s Victory Park Capital , have also purchased the Mi Pueblo chain, which, like Cardenas, caters to a Hispanic market. It’s based in San Jose and has locations throughout Southern California, including Perris, Santa Ana and Norwalk.

“KKR and Victory Park will be making investments in both Cardenas Markets and Mi Pueblo, along with the ownership of both businesses, including the Cardenas family,” according to a statement from Cara Kleiman, a spokesperson for KKR.

“We are not disclosing financial details, but expect that these new investments will create positive momentum and allow us to better service their communities and valued customers, while also growing Mi Pueblo and Cardenas Markets, creating new jobs, and offering long and rewarding career paths for executives and employees,” the statement says.

Cardenas has 33 stores operating throughout Southern California and the Las Vegas area. The company employs about 3,000 people.

With 19 stores, Mi Pueblo entered bankruptcy protection in 2013, exiting the next year with a $56 million injection of financing from Victory Park Capital.

According to industry publication The Shelby Report, the new owners will operate the two chains separately “for the time being.”

“We are very excited about our new partnership with KKR global investments,” Marco Robles, spokesman for Cardenas, said by phone. “This affords us a great opportunity to expand our reach in the grocery industry and into communities not presently served by Cardenas.”

Robles said Cardenas plans to hire more employees because he said the company would be expanding under its new ownership.

Cardenas’ headquarters are located near the intersection of Archibald Avenue and the 10 Freeway, where it also has its 470,000-square-foot distribution center, 2501 East Guasti Road.

One of two things could be happening with this purchase, retail and grocery store expert Craig Rosenblum, a partner with the consumer goods and retail consulting firm Willard Bishop, said. The question is whether this is a strategic financial play to allow KKR entry into the Hispanic supermarket business — or a real estate play “given the location of where their stores are today.”

“There’s plenty of other Hispanic grocers, so what they’re going to need to do is figure out how to differentiate Mi Pueblo and Cardenas in the marketplace so shoppers want to shop their stores,” he said.

Rosenblum said the best in the sector is Anaheim-based Northgate González Markets, “with what they’ve been doing with remodels, food service and so on.”

Rosenblum is watching to see whether KKR is interested in acquiring other Hispanic markets in Southern California.

“Are they finished? Is this just the beginning,” Rosenblum asked. “Are there other potentials given the competitive nature of the market. … There might potentially be others KKR is looking at.”

The first Cardenas Market opened in Ontario in 1981. Company expansion took off in the 1990s after the success of the company’s sixth store in Pomona, Robles said in a 2013 interview for an article about the passing of company founder Jesus Cardenas.

Robles said a key signature of the stores is the family atmosphere, and the themed architecture and decor of the supermarket’s interior.

During my time in Arizona, I have met people who identify as Hispanic, but can't engage in a conversation in Spanish — and I understand. Many of my Hispanic friends were born and raised as bicultural and bilingual. Unfortunately, trying to balance their lives among both cultures sometimes results in Spanish-language inefficiency.

In my case, it's not a big issue, because I can adapt to either language easily. The problem comes when you look at these situations in a bigger context. I think there has to be a more definitive guideline for identifying as "Hispanic" or "Spanish-Speaker" in the U.S.

It's really concerning to see that with time, less young people speak Spanish. It's sad that they fail to see the advantage that being bilingual can provide. It's really ironic how many of them have been identifying as Hispanic their entire life, when the definition of Hispanic actually revolves entirely around language.

It scares me to see Spanish fade away with time.

I'm Hispanic, but I was born and raised in a homogenous community where we only spoke Spanish. In Arizona I struggle to determine whether I should speak Spanish with a coworker, classmate or anybody who identifies as Latino or Hispanic.

For me, these conversations usually go in two different directions. If they do speak Spanish, I'm confused whether I should continue the conversation in Spanish (or Spanglish in some cases). In other occasions, I decide to continue the conversation mostly in English because the person is clearly not comfortable speaking the language, which is okay, too.

I don't want to underestimate anybody or offend them with my decision. Sometimes they are embarrassed to speak Spanish because they don't practice it often, and they know I do. In other cases they just prefer to speak English, and can occasionally be ridiculed for that decision. Some Hispanics tell non-Spanish-speaking latinos that they're "not Latino enough."

As immigrant families keep growing in the U.S., I think families should continue to practice Spanish in the household. It's also crucial to include Spanish-language education where the Latino and Hispanic community is a big part of the student population.

In California, Proposition 58 was passed last Tuesday which repeals English-only education for students learning English as a second language. By integrating Spanish as part of their learning process, they also have the ability to explore and expand their Spanish skills.

Spanish education in the U.S. also needs to grow more, specially postsecondary education. I think there should be more emphasis on learning proper Spanish. That is: how to write it correctly and how to speak it formally. This will benefit the person not only socially but also in their profession. In the U.S., it might be acceptable to know only elementary Spanish, but this can limit your possibilities when networking abroad.

ASU offers a Spanish-Heritage Program to connect Hispanics and Latinos to their heritage through language. A former professor of this program, Roberto Ortiz Manzanilla, said it's important for these students to explore Language because, "if a person dose not develop a dialogue between his/her culture this sometimes preserves stereotypes," he said. Manzanilla feels that Latinos in the U.S. must develop more awareness in order to appreciate their culture.

As the Hispanic community continues I think we owe it to our ancestors and our identity as Hispanics in the U.S. to grow I think they should grow as educated and literate within the element that identifies us — language.

As said before, I think heritage isn't limited to language but we can decide how we want to shape our identity. We must decide whether we are going to allow our circumstances to define us, or if we will shape our identity through our decisions.

Whether you identify as Hispanic or Latino, and whether you feel comfortable speaking Spanish or not, I think there should be a generous interest in the language that allowed our culture to develop.